Tory county councillors at County Hall, near St Richard's statue by Chichester Cathedral, should be indebted to their retiring education director, Richard Bunker (The Argus, April 29).

Mr Bunker has given these political appointees loyal service for 23 years. He has given them an "easy ride", offering little or no resistance to their ideological excesses, especially relating to the orchestrated destruction of hot meals and playing fields in primary schools, particularly in Crawley.

I know Mr Bunker to be a sincere and honourable man and genuinely wish for him a richly-deserved and wonderful retirement. However, I will not bestow on him sainthood status quite yet.

-Richard W Symonds, SCRAM, Campaign for Hot School Meals and Playing Fields, Ifield, Crawley